Keep Learning

Champlain first explored Spain and the West Indies with his uncle. He was a geographer for Henry IV, and he joined Francois Grave Du Pont's party to explore Canada in 1603. They explored the Gaspe Peninsula until arriving in Montreal. His record as a sound geographer allowed him to become a geographer under Lieutenant-General Pierre Du Gua de Monts' expedition to Acadia, a region that encompassed the northeastern part of North America. They temporarily settled in Novia Scotia and explored the St. John River and Bay of Fundy. They sailed along the coast of New England in 1605, and Champlain was the first to give a detailed record of the area that would later become Plymouth Rock.

They returned to the St. Lawrence River in 1608 and constructed a settlement that would later become the city of Quebec. Champlain also ventured further into Canada with the help of the Huron people, an Indian tribe that shared good relations with the settlers. He helped the Huron fight the Iroquois, and he lived with the Huron near Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, giving a thorough account of Indian life in the area before returning to France.